


be with you

by Fives (janfives90)



Series: Star Wars AU [1]
Category: The Prom - Sklar/Beguelin/Martin
Genre: F/F, Star Wars AU, but empire era so no chance whatsoever of tros spoilers, it was opening weekend so
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-23
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:20:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21923560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janfives90/pseuds/Fives
Summary: “I need to go back to Talus. I need to get to my X-wing.”Alyssa snorts. “Your fighter got shot down, remember?”“It was a little bit on fire, but I’m sure my droid got it out by now and landed it far away from where your people would be looking for it.”“Wait, are you serious?” Alyssa turns around and flushes when she sees Emma out of her flight jacket and down to a thin white tanktop. She looks up at the ceiling, waiting for Emma to put on the Imperial jacket. “You’re not joking.”
Relationships: Alyssa Greene/Emma Nolan
Series: Star Wars AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1602220
Comments: 4
Kudos: 32





	be with you

**Author's Note:**

> If you're expecting truly 100% accurate Star Wars terminology... sorry.

Lieutenant Commander Alyssa Greene walks briskly through the corridors of the Star Destroyer, heading for the detention block. She saw the alert come up, the notification of the capture of a downed Rebel pilot, but she knows it’s something she needs to confirm with her own two eyes.

When she walks into the room, she knows that, without a doubt, the report was true.

“Empty your pockets,” a Stormtrooper is saying, blaster trained on the woman standing in front of him with her hands on her head.

“I already did,” she says dryly, nodding towards a rather impressive assortment of blasters piled on a nearby table.

“Empty. Your. Pockets.”

The pilot sighs and takes a few more blasters of varying sizes out of pockets Alyssa didn’t even realize she had, in her jacket, her shirt, her pants, even her belt.

“There,” the pilot says, putting her hands back on her head. “Happy now?”

“I want _all_ of your weapons, Rebel scum.”

The pilot scowls. “No fun.” She takes a vibroblade out of the sleeve of her jacket.

“Where did you find her?” Alyssa asks as she steps further into the room.

The Stormtrooper turns to her and snaps to attention. “Commander. She was shot down over Talus, in the Corellian system. We’re still searching for her wreck, but it was burning when she ejected. I doubt there’s much left of it by now.”

Alyssa nods. “What’s your name, Rebel?”

“Lieutenant Commander Emma Nolan.”

“You’re awfully young to be a commander.”

“So are you.”

“I’m good at my job. What’s your excuse?”

Emma gives her a small smile that seems an attempt to hide the sadness in her eyes. “I’m still alive.”

Alyssa folds her hands in front of her. “Well. We’ll see how long that lasts.”

* * *

Alyssa walks into the detention block as quickly as she can. “Cell thirteen,” she mutters under her breath. “Cell thirteen… cell thirteen…”

She gets to the cell and opens it, and pauses at the entrance. The pilot is still strapped to a mechanism forcing her to stay standing, her face bloodied, but she gives Alyssa a remarkably cheerful look when she steps inside.

“Hello again. Here to continue the interview? Unfortunately, all I can offer is the same thing I told the other Imperials when they were here. Lieutenant Commander Emma Nolan. Blue Squadron Leader. Alliance to Restore the Republic.”

“I’m not here to interrogate you.” Alyssa hits the button to release the bindings, startling when she has to catch the pilot before she slumps to the floor. _“Kriff._ Are you okay?”

“Perhaps less than I thought I was,” Emma mutters. “I just need a minute.”

“We don’t have one. The cameras in this block will be back on soon.” Alyssa frowns. “You seem familiar for some reason.”

“I get that a lot.” Emma looks at her, confusion in her eyes. “What are you doing, Commander?”

“I’ll explain later. We need to go.” Alyssa shoves an Imperial uniform at her. “Put that on. Quickly.”

“I can barely stand and you want me to change?”

“Do you want to live? If so, then yeah, I want you to do that.”

Emma sighs and leans against the mechanism, kicking off her boots and starting to undo her belt. Alyssa clears her throat and turns around.

“I need to go back to Talus. I need to get to my X-wing.”

Alyssa snorts. “Your fighter got shot down, remember?”

“It was a little bit on fire, but I’m sure my droid got it out by now and landed it far away from where your people would be looking for it.”

“Wait, are you _serious?”_ Alyssa turns around and flushes when she sees Emma out of her flight jacket and down to a thin white tanktop. She looks up at the ceiling, waiting for Emma to put on the Imperial jacket. “You’re not joking.”

“Not at all. R1 knows what he’s doing.”

“Well, so do I, and there’s no way you’ll get to Talus.”

“I think there is.” Emma steps forward, dressed, wavering a little until Alyssa puts a hand on her shoulder to steady her. “Just guide me in the direction of your TIE fighters and we’ll get there.”

“You’re awfully confident about all this, Nolan.”

“The moment I was brought on board I figured I was dead, so really there’s not much worse it can get. Might as well try to look on the bright side.”

“Yeah, but there’s a difference between a bright side and a _stupid_ side,” Alyssa mutters as she leads them out of the detention block.

* * *

“What’s your name?” Emma asks as they walk through the Star Destroyer.

“Lieutenant Commander Alyssa Greene.”

“How long have you been in the Imperial Navy?”

The woman pauses, a tightness in her jaw. “Too long.” She waits until they pass two Stormtroopers, then hands Emma a blaster. “You might need this. Sorry; I couldn’t exactly resupply your whole stock.”

“Eh. I’ll find more.” Emma checks the blaster before sliding it into the holster on her hip, wincing as an awkward movement of her arm sends pain through her body. “These uniforms are kinda itchy. How do you tolerate them?”

“You manage.”

“Okay.” Emma ducks her head, hiding the blood from a passing officer. “Why are you helping me?”

“I’m the contact you were supposed to be meeting with on Corellia before you almost got yourself killed.” Alyssa points at a door. “The hanger is just through here.”

“Can you do me a favor? Can you not tell my commander that instead of me rescuing you, you’re rescuing me?”

“Rescue?” Alyssa laughs. “It was just a meeting. I’m not going with you.”

Emma stops. “Why not? If they figure out you let me go, they’ll kill you.”

“If I go with you, they’ll kill my mom,” Alyssa murmurs. “Believe me. I want to leave. I just can’t.” She glances over her shoulder at the camera. “You have to go. The system update will finish in just about a minute. We’re out of time to talk.”

Emma glances up at the camera. “You can’t leave willingly.”

“No.”

“Okay.” Emma takes the blaster out of its holster and shoots her.

* * *

Alyssa groans as she wakes up on her back, twisted awkwardly behind the pilot’s seat of a TIE fighter. “What…” she mumbles.

“I’d hold on to something if I were you.”

She looks over at Emma, in the pilot’s seat, and frowns. “What are you doi-” She’s cut off when the TIE suddenly spins, and she’s thrown painfully towards the ceiling. _“Ow!”_

“I told you to hold on,” Emma says mildly. She glances at one of the monitors. “Wow, they _really_ don’t care about you, huh? So much for a hostage. They have a whole squadron of TIEs out.”

“What did you do? What did you _do?”_ Alyssa smacks her in the back of the head and leans over her shoulder. “I _told you_ that if they find out I’m a deserter they’ll kill-”

“Yeah, yeah, kill your mom, I got it. That’s why I stunned you and took you hostage instead.”

Alyssa rubs at a sore spot above her ribcage. “Are you kidding me? You’re going to get us both killed.”

“Oh please.” Emma winces as a warning flashes on one of the screens. “Hold on again.”

“Why- _ow!”_

“How many times do I need to tell you to hold on before you actually do?!”

Alyssa grabs the back of Emma’s chair and glares at her. “How did you ever become a Squadron Leader?”

“Easy! My pilots don’t complain as much as you do!” She shoots down one of the TIE fighters that’s following them. “We’re going to Talus, and then we’re going to Corellia.”

“I’m not going anywhere. I need to go back, or-”

“Do you want to die? Because that’s what will happen if you go back to them. Do you not understand that? We can protect your mother.”

Alyssa shakes her head slowly. “No one can protect us.”

* * *

The TIE fighter lands hard next to a lake, and Emma opens the cockpit, jumping out before reaching up to help Alyssa down.

“Do you have _any_ good landings?”

“It’s a good landing if you walk away.” Emma starts walking along the edge of the lake before stumbling, a sharp pain shooting through her chest.

Alyssa catches her before she can fall. “Are you okay?”

“Adrenaline is wearing off. The Empire can never just ask people questions, huh?” Emma grits her teeth and stands straighter, trying to ignore how much it hurts. “My ship shouldn’t be far from here.”

She takes another step and almost falls again. Alyssa grabs her and supports her as they keep walking. “You’re a stubborn woman, you know that, Commander?”

“So I’ve been told.” Emma winces. “You’re pretty stubborn too. How did you end up an Imperial?”

“They came to my hometown. They needed more soldiers, and started taking them from each of the families. My mother is a leader back home. They would be lost without her. My only choice was to volunteer in her place. The first opportunity I had to help the Rebellion, I did.”

Emma gives a soft laugh. “Funny. The same thing happened to me.”

Alyssa stares at her. “You were an Imperial?”

“I grew up with my grandparents. They wanted my grandfather to be a soldier for them, but he was already sick. I took his place.” Emma sighs shakily. “I was a TIE pilot until the Rebellion gave me a way out.”

“How do you do it? Take on that risk without knowing what the Empire could do to the people you love?”

“All my joining did was spare my grandfather from dying violently in battle. It didn’t cure his illness. After he passed, my grandmother was taken into hiding by the Rebels who recruited me. It was all I wanted.” Emma gives Alyssa a long look. “What do you want, Lieutenant Commander Greene?”

“...I want to be free of this.”

Emma smiles softly. “Then I can help you.”

* * *

“Damn,” Alyssa whispers. “You were telling the truth.”

“It’ll be tight in the cockpit, but I promise that the trip to Corellia isn’t long,” Emma says as they get closer to the X-wing. “If R1 didn’t fix the shot to my shield generator, it’ll be even shorter.”

There’s an annoyed beep, and the blue and black astromech droid in the X-wing spins its head.

“Sorry, sorry, I know, you know how to do your job.” Emma carefully climbs up into the fighter with Alyssa’s help before Alyssa joins her.

“Lieutenant Commander Alyssa Greene, this is B4-R1. R1, this is Lieutenant Commander Greene.”

“Alyssa. Just call me Alyssa.”

Emma smirks as she starts up the X-wing. “Okay, so you get to call her Alyssa.”

“You can when you apologize for kidnapping me.”

Emma grins at her over her shoulder. “I’ll keep that in mind, Commander.”

* * *

They land on a pad on Corellia that’s hidden from view from above, and Alyssa grabs Emma’s shoulder, holding her against the X-wing before she can try to keep them moving.

“You flinched every time the ship bumped even a little,” Alyssa murmurs softly. She rests a gentle hand against Emma’s lower torso, watching her wince. “What the hell did they do to you?”

“Doesn’t make a difference. I didn’t tell them anything, and that’s all that matters.”

“It’s not all that matters.” Alyssa tilts Emma’s head back with a gloved hand. “You’re bleeding again.”

R1 drops down out of the X-wing and rolls over to them, bumping softly against Emma’s legs and giving a low, sad beep.

“I’ll take care of it when we get somewhere safe.” Emma closes her eyes briefly before swallowing and stepping past her. “M’fine, Lys,” she murmurs.

Alyssa pauses before turning, watching Emma limp towards the exit, R1 rolling behind her. “...Lys?”

* * *

Emma walks down a narrow alley, avoiding the suspicious looks from the civilians who notice the uniform she’s currently wearing.

“Hold on a minute. Nolan, hold on a minute. Why did you just call me ‘Lys’? No one has called me that since I was in the academy.”

“Weird.” Emma stops in front of a door and knocks three times. A small slot slides open, and she mutters, “Broadway.”

The door opens, and Emma pulls Alyssa inside.

“Nolan!” Barry closes the door as soon as R1 is inside and pulls her into a firm hug. “We thought you were dead.”

“Almost was.” Emma gestures at Alyssa. “Lieutenant Commander Alyssa Greene. She was one of our spies. She got me out.”

Barry nods at Alyssa. “I guess that explains the uniforms. You should-”

“Sorry to interrupt, Bar, but I… I think I need…” Emma swallows, wavering on her feet. _“Kriff,”_ she whispers.

She feels Alyssa’s hands on her shoulders, then everything goes black.

* * *

Alyssa glances up as the man who let them into the building sits down across from her. “Are you afraid, Commander?” he asks quietly.

“Yes.” Alyssa runs a hand over her face. “Lieutenant Commander Nolan basically kidnapped me so that the Empire wouldn’t kill my mother for my desertion. But I don’t know if it will actually work.”

“We’ll make sure of it.” He reaches out and shakes her hand. “Commander Barry Glickman. Thank you for getting Emma out of there.”

“I wish I could’ve done it before they had interrogated her. I had to wait for a shift in the cameras.” Alyssa glances towards the door leading to a back room. “Is she going to be okay?”

“She’ll be fine. The bacta tanks can cure anything from blaster wounds to hypothermia.”

“I don’t know what to do now. I can’t just go back. They’ll ask how I got away, and I’m not sure there’s any answer that would be good enough for them.”

“Hm.” Barry leans back in his seat. “Do you _want_ to go back?”

“No,” Alyssa says quietly. “But I think I’m too scared to leave.”

“Sometimes fear is what it takes.” He pats her gently on the knee before standing up. “Think about it. In the meantime, I’ll have someone bring you a change of clothes. You stand out like a sore thumb here.”

“Thank you.” Alyssa rubs the back of her neck as he walks away, but her gaze lifts as the door opens and Emma steps out.

She’s dressed more similarly to when Alyssa first saw her, black boots and brown pants and a white shirt and a reddish-brown flight jacket. She runs a hand through her damp hair and heads over to Alyssa, taking the seat Barry vacated.

“How are you feeling?”

“Perfectly fine,” Emma says with a grin. “Wish I could get that taste out of my mouth, though. It lingers.”

Alyssa nods. “I-I… I need you to swear something to me. I can’t just say ‘great, my mom’s safe so everything is fine’. I need a promise that you’ll do everything you can to keep the people of my home safe, too.”

Emma’s eyes are soft. “Of course we will. We care far more for innocent lives than the Empire does.” She gives a small smile. “And I’m sure not scared of consequences.”

The line rings in symphony with a memory, a thought lost in the back of Alyssa’s mind.

And suddenly, she knows what has seemed familiar about Emma Nolan. Suddenly, she knows why she knew to call her ‘Lys’.

“I finally figured it out,” Alyssa murmurs. “We were in the same class at the academy.”

Emma winces. “Ah. I wasn’t sure if you would remember.”

_“You knew me this whole time?”_

“Okay, first of all, I didn’t know you were the mole until you confirmed it. Second of all…” Emma shrugs. “What exactly was I going to say?”

“You’re _Emma Nolan!_ You almost beat me for top of our class because you _cheated_ on our final exam!” Alyssa buries her face in her hands and groans. “How the hell didn’t I recognize you sooner?”

“Well, it _has_ been years.” Emma holds her hands up when Alyssa glares at her. “Look, I can explain. I-”

She pauses, looking past Alyssa towards a one-way window near the ceiling.

“What is it?” Alyssa asks, turning around.

“Something’s not right,” Emma murmurs. She stands and goes over to the door, opening it and looking outside. Her eyes widen and she slams the door again. She points at her astromech. “R1, send a message to Dee Dee. Tell her to get the sirens going. _Barry!”_

The commander is already racing up the stairs to the floor above them. “I saw it!”

“What’s going on?”

“Message and roll,” Emma yells in her droid’s direction as she grabs Alyssa’s hand and yanks her to her feet.

“Nolan! _What is going on?”_

“Orbital bombardment. There’s a Star Destroyer above us. They don’t usually do them on Corellia, but I suppose they’re making an exception today.”

“Wait, what? _What?”_ Alyssa tightens her grip on Emma’s hand. “I thought those were a myth.”

“That’s what you’re supposed to think.” Emma gives her a grim look. “It’s the Empire, Alyssa. You can’t tell me you’re surprised.” She opens a hidden door in the wall that reveals a long tunnel downward. “Go, buddy,” Emma says, patting the top of R1 before letting go of Alyssa’s hand. “You should, too.”

“What about you?”

“I’m going out to the street to make sure people are evacuating. Barry will be bringing the rest of the squadron down in a minute. Once this is over, we’ll be getting off this planet. You can come with us.”

“Alright. Well, I’m coming with you now, too.”

Emma gives her an irritated look. “Alyssa.”

Alyssa puts her hand over Emma’s mouth. “You haven’t apologized for kidnapping me yet, now have you? I didn’t think so.”

Emma sighs heavily. “Fine then, _Commander,_ let’s go before the street is on fire.”

* * *

Emma runs through the alley, checking each little vendor cart to make sure its occupants have gone inside a building.

“This is insane,” Alyssa says.

“I agree. You should go back.”

“No, idiot, we _both_ need to get off the street. I didn’t save your skin just so that you could blow yourself up.”

Emma turns on her heel. “I grew up here, Alyssa,” she says softly. “I’ve known Barry since I was little; it’s why I knew I could trust him when the Rebellion came for me. I can’t just go inside and hide if there’s a chance someone could be left alone to die.”

“You’re too noble for your own good,” Alyssa murmurs.

“There’s a good chance of that, yeah.” Emma looks around, biting her lip before sighing. “Though I don’t… I don’t think there’s anyone else here. Which is good. But I suppose we should go.”

“Good plan.”

“I-” Emma glances up at the sky. _“Damn!”_ She grabs Alyssa by the waist and pulls her against a doorway at the exact moment laser cannonfire begins to rain down on the streets.

* * *

Alyssa chokes on dust, enveloped by darkness. “Nolan?” she rasps. _“Emma!”_

A light flickers on, a small flashlight held by Emma, and Alyssa suddenly realizes that they’re still in the doorway, pressed close together, trapped by a pile of rubble that’s inches from them.

“Is that the first time you’ve called me by my first name, Commander?” Emma asks, amusement in her tone.

“Shut up. I thought you went and got yourself killed even after all the effort I’ve done.”

“Now that I’ve been healed up and you’ve remembered who I am, you really don’t seem to like me very much.”

Alyssa rolls her eyes. “Is this really the time or place to get into this?”

Emma points her flashlight at a huge boulder next to Alyssa’s head. “Well, we don’t really have much else to do.”

Alyssa scowls. “I don’t particularly like cheating.”

“Neither do I. But _your boyfriend_ had already paid off the test examiner to give us defective versions of the exam so that we’d both fail it and he’d have a better chance of getting to the top of the class, so, as far as I was concerned, changing both of our results to make them more accurate was just righting an injustice.”

“...Wait… _both_ of…” Alyssa pales. “You changed my score, too?”

Emma frowns. “Yeah. I thought you knew. Greg’s dad, that admiral? He wanted his son to be the top of the class, but we were both beating him, and he was going to throw us both under the bus to get it.”

Alyssa shakes her head. “I-I thought it was just you. The only reason I didn’t turn you in was because I knew they’d kill you.”

“Well. I appreciate that. And I’m definitely glad you didn’t, because they would’ve assumed you were involved, too.”

“Greg wouldn’t do that. We weren’t even really dating.”

Emma gives her a long look. “Are you _sure_ he wouldn’t do it, Lys?”

Alyssa pauses. “Shit.”

“Look, I… I’m sorry about kidnapping you. You’re right to be scared, and I should’ve been less selfish. It wasn’t right of me to make that decision for you.”

“I’m sorry that I’ve been so rough on you. You thought you were helping.” Alyssa takes in a slow breath. “And, well… you _did_ give me a chance at the freedom from the Empire that I’ve wanted for so long.”

There’s another explosion near them, and the rubble shifts, closing in and making their space even smaller.

“We’re going to die in here,” Alyssa murmurs. “Aren’t we?”

Emma gives her a strained smile. “I told you to stay back with the others.”

Alyssa stares at her for a long moment, then drags her forward by the collar of her flight jacket. She kisses Emma roughly, teeth and tongue and far too much movement of her hands in Emma’s hair. When they finally separate, breathless, gasping in too much of their remaining oxygen, Alyssa mumbles, “Sorry. I just figured that a good kiss would be a good final memory to have.”

“Was it a good kiss?” Emma asks.

“A great one, but if you act smug I’ll kill you faster.”

“Hm.” Emma lifts Alyssa’s chin with her free hand and leans in as if she’s going to kiss her again, but pauses. “Question. Will you kill me if I tell you that I found the door handle on the door we’re right next to and we’re _not_ going to die?”

“...I think I might die anyway, so you should be safe.”

Emma puts her flashlight away and opens the door, stepping inside the building and pulling Alyssa with her. She shuts the door behind them before any of the rubble can shift. “Nothing to be embarrassed about. If I knew it was an option, I would definitely ask the Empire for permission to make out with you before they executed me. I’ll keep that in mind for the next time.”

“If there’s a next time, Nolan, I don’t plan on rescuing you,” Alyssa grumbles.

“You would. Who else are you going to argue with?”

“You’re irritating,” Alyssa says.

Emma grins at her. “I know.” She pulls Alyssa in close to her. “When this all stops, I’m going to go back to my squadron. I’m going to go back to the Rebellion, and I’m going to keep fighting. Come with me. I know it’s scary, Alyssa, believe me I do. But it’s the right thing, and you know it.”

“What happens if I say no? If all of this has been too much?”

“That’s up to you.” Emma laughs. “I’m not kidnapping you again. I’ve learned my lesson.”

Alyssa absentmindedly runs her hands up and down Emma’s arms. “I… I want to go. I want to help. I-I… I trust you, Emma. I believe your word, and I can’t quite place why. I just trust you.”

“It’s probably my excellent kissing skills.”

Alyssa rolls her eyes and gently smacks her on the side of the head. “Your ego knows no bounds, does it?”

“Not really. If you need any more convincing, I’m sure I can work on you.”

Alyssa gives her a playful shove and walks over to a window to try to see the damage outside. “Why am I agreeing to put up with you?”

Emma grins and leans next to her. “You needed the excitement. And you know, in your heart, that it’s the right thing to do.”

Alyssa waits until Emma isn’t looking at her, then gives her a small, soft smile. “Yeah. I guess I do.”


End file.
